Tug-O-War

I’m in a tug-o-war,

a fierce competition

Only, it’s not a game,

but a battle

On the one side,

pulling me one direction,

is my longing for God,

my heaven-ward focus

And on the other,

the pull of the world

of distraction

of selfishness

And I feel that pull

that tug

that struggle

every. single. day

It’s not a horizontal battle

but a vertical tug o war

upward

and downward

and I want You, God,

yet….

I am pulled

by so much

electronics

my own thoughts

busyness

the enemy

the list goes on and on

But

in the middle

of that taut rope

is a tied piece of ribbon

and I see that red cloth

my choices

my focus

my will

It is me taking my thoughts captive

to make them obedient to Christ

or me allowing defeat thoughts

to overtake my hours

It is me choosing prayer

over mindless hours of screen time

or me letting entertainment

step on creative, full living

It is me deliberately serving

and honoring my King

or me procrastinating

what He has asked me to do

Choices bringing my ribbon

ever upward

or yanking me downward

And I see that the anchor

of the heaven-ward side

is God Himself

always drawing me in

and looking for my eyes to fix on Him

not on the competition

and I decide which side

I want to be pulling on

for my own soul

and because I am called to more

than downward

– Susie Stewart

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (MSG)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

– Matthew 6:33 (KJV)

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

– James 4:7 (NLT)

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

– 1 John 4:4 (NLT)

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT)

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, He does.

– 1 Peter 5:8-11 (MSG)

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

– 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

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